a Geographer's Place

I was trained to travel cheaply. Well, maybe “cheap” is the wrong word. Frugal is a better choice. Yes, I travel frugally, depending on my given budget. Preferring to crawl around odd sites and discover obscure views, I will give up a swanky hotel most anytime. When you think about it, while traveling, a hotel is simply a place to wash-up and lay your head for the evening. While Spartan accommodations can leave some people cold (pun intended), they can be beneficial. Take, for example, the place in this picture: This is an $8 room in Lima, Peru: just a place to lay your head and maybe write a post card. But what else do you need? You should be out and about exploring, right? Okay, okay…so once in a while it’s nice to stay in a five star palace and be taken care of (I have done that several times). However, if I had to choose between posh lodging or an extra destination, pyramid, cathedral, ruin, or museum (and I usually do), I’d pass on the feathery comforter, room service, and bell...

One of my hobbies is studying mythology. All peoples and cultures have myths, many of which are rooted in actual events. Myths are, in their simplest form, stories passed down generation to generation. Each one usually has a moral. Some are very exciting epics, others are tales of loneliness, still others are comedic, ALL are interesting. And for me, the similarities between myths are VERY alluring. Many decades ago, Joseph Campbell ( the authority on mythology) wrote a book called, “The Hero With A Thousand Faces” (1949), where he compared myths from many different cultures. Through the decades, he revised and updated the book to include “new” myths. (For Star Wars fans, George Lucas relied heavily on Joseph Campbell’s works when creating his epic battle of light vs. dark). THAT is what fascinates me about mythology. So many different peoples and cultures separated by thousands of miles of ominous terrain and dangerous oceans, yet many have common stories and, even more intriguing...

Next to dessert, breakfast is my favorite meal. A good, hearty breakfast always helps me feel charged and ready for the day. While I can eat cold cereal with the best of them, handle a simple toast-and-juice breakfast, and enjoy a “European” breakfast (muesli/granola, plain yogurt, juice, fruit, and cold cuts), it’s the hearty breakfasts that are my favorites. Now, while I enjoy cooking in general, I relish the chance to cook a breakfast, especially for other people. There are few things better than seeing folks with a satisfied tummy in the morning. I’ve been lucky to have some really great recipes handed down through my family: everything from Yorkshire Pudding (yes, we eat it for breakfast—apologies to my UK friends) to buckwheat pancakes. And I usually experiment a bit with the recipes until I discover a “secret ingredient” that enhances the breakfast and makes people say, “There’s something in there…I’m just having a hard time figuring it out…” Why do I like breakfast so much...